Astrid van Zon When I tell people that I am involved with the Apocalypse, I regularly get a reaction that it is heavy stuff because they think it is about the downfall of the world or because they have associations and old interpretations related to the church and...
Blog
Looking for the Apocalypse at the Goetheanum during the World Conference September 2023
31 Oct, 23 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman While participating in the Goetheanum World Conference from September 27 to October 1, 2023 in Dornach, Switzerland, I started to look for elements of the Apocalypse in the building of the Goetheanum. The goal of this conference was summarized by Pim...
Book Imagining Apocalyptic Visions now on sale
21 Sep, 23 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots, News
Kees Zoeteman Spring 2023, an exhibition of sculptures by Kees Zoeteman on the Apocalypse was held in Rotterdam. On that occasion, an exhibition booklet was published. This booklet, "Imagining Apocalyptic Visions" is now on sale from the publisher Nearchus C.V....
Book review Apokalypse im Ich (2019)
14 Sep, 23 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman Book review Apokalypse im Ich (2019)In the summer of 2019 the book Apocalypse im Ich (Apocalypse in the Self) (ISBN 978-3-7235-1612-6, Verlag am Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland) was published. It contains eight contributions, consisting of revised...
Searching France for the throne of God and the rider on the white horse: Chartres, Angers and Auxerre
4 Jul, 23 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, News
Kees Zoeteman and Astrid van Zon Once you pass the Boulevard periferique of Paris, you have the choice of storming into southern France on either the A6 or the A11 motorways. The A11 takes you west from Chartres to Angers, where ancient art treasures await the modern...
The surprise of Hans Memling’s triptych in Bruges, Belgium
17 Nov, 22 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman and Astrid van Zon A treasure from the 15th century on the Apocalypse The history of Bruges Ah, how over the centuries Belgian Bruges has been cut off from its lifeline, the North Sea! From the 12th to the 15th century, Bruges was the center of world...
The New Jerusalem and the treasure built by Charles IV of Bohemia in Karlštejn
14 Nov, 22 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots, News
Kees Zoeteman and Astrid van Zon In the heart of Europe, on a hilltop near Prague, we find Karlštejn Castle. Its great tower pierces high in the sky, harboring a secret. We went in search of that secret, because it is said to be the only place on earth where an...
I’m not afraid of the devil; conversation with priest Bastiaan Baan about conscience and living with phrases from the Apocalypse
20 Jan, 22 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots, Interview
Kees Zoeteman Bastiaan Baan (1949) has been working as a priest in the Christian Community since 1981 and since 2012 also as a teacher at the theological schools of the Christian Community in Germany and the USA. Since the age of 18, he has been practicing the methods...
Development of the self
16 Jan, 22 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman and Astrid van Zon The self, the ‘I’ of man plays a central role in the Apocalypse. By 'I' we mean our self-awareness, the authority in ourselves from which we make judgments and choices. By "I am" we refer to the unique person we are ourselves and which...
Time shall be no more
15 Jan, 22 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman and Astrid van Zon About halfway through the Apocalypse, at text fragment 29 (Rev. 10: 1-11), we meet the imposing angel, -with a rainbow around his head and his face like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire-, standing with one foot on the sea and...
On sealing and seals in the Apocalypse
14 Jan, 22 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman Seals play an important role in the Apocalypse. One manifestation of this is that the epoch that follows the current Post-Atlantean epoch is called the Seal epoch. In our daily lives, we know seals as stamp impressions in beeswax or sealing varnish. They...
Who is the John who wrote the Apocalypse?
13 Jan, 22 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman and Astrid van Zon On this website we have already paid some attention to John, the writer of the Apocalypse (https://www.project-apocalypse.com/FAQ/). We know that he was one of the twelve apostles, was imprisoned on Patmos, became very old and ended...
What is Igor Mitoraj hiding in his sculpture?
4 Dec, 21 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman The exhibition Façade by Igor Mitoraj at the Dutch Museum ‘Beelden aan Zee’ in The Hague (June 19, 2021-6 February 2022) made an overwhelming impression on me. Igor Motoraj, Ikaro alato (2000) and Ikaria (1987), bronze; Museum Beelden aan Zee (photo Kees...
The essence of the Apocalypse is that you can learn to unfold yourself; in conversation with Dutch priest Lisette Buisman
17 Aug, 21 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots, Interview
Kees Zoeteman Lisette Buisman-Walbeek (1951) has been a priest with the Christian Community since 2005. We meet on July 28, 2021 in the Raphael Church in Zeist, the Netherlands, after she has led a Wednesday morning service. Busily gesticulating as always. But when...
The Grail Mystery and the Seven Liberal Arts by Frans Lutters
5 Jun, 21 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Book Review Kees Zoeteman Over the past thirty years Frans Lutters, teacher at a Rudolf Steiner school in the Netherlands, has spoken frequently on the mysteries of the sevenfold nature of man and creation. He explained how the sevenfoldness also has played a role in...
Book Review Erich Zimmer: IM GEISTE AN DES HERREN TAG
12 May, 21 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, News
With 30 pastel drawings about the Apocalypse Kees Zoeteman Frans and Ineke Lutters drew my attention to the existence of the book by Erich Zimmer entitled Im Geiste an des Herren Tag (In the spirit at the day of the Lord) on the Apocalypse. His wife Hella...
Finding the text corresponding with a fragment number; overview
9 May, 21 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
If you download the indicated file, you will get an overview of all 56 text fragments in order to grasp the interconnectedness among the text fragments: Apocalypse-overview-fragments-1-56-2Download
Washington Mall an apocalyptic stage on January 6, 2021?
7 Feb, 21 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, News
Kees Zoeteman It was around 1970 that I became acquainted with the National Mall of Washington D.C. As a young researcher, I had received a scholarship from the German Marshall Fund to spend 5 weeks visiting laboratories all over the U.S. that were working on the...
A delightful book of Charles Kovacs: ‘Betrachtungen zur Apokalypse’
25 Jan, 21 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman Dieter Hammer read about project-Apocalypse on this website and then sent me a message whether I also knew the work of Charles Kovacs. This is exactly what I had initially hoped for: to share our insights about the Apocalypse with each other. Not knowing...
The Lord’s Prayer and the Apocalypse
15 Jan, 21 | Blog
Kees Zoeteman At first glance, there seems little reason to connect the Christian Lord’s Prayer with the Apocalypse. But there is more kinship than meets the eye. Both the prayer and the book are travel companions for humanity on its way to its future destination....
Leading organizations from the Apocalypse; keeping own identity alive
8 Jan, 21 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman Based on my experiences with companies and organizations, the following is a guide on how the Apocalypse can be used in recognizing key challenges for leaders in organizations and businesses during the seven successive episodes in a cycle. This blog will...
Elaine Pagels wrote: The Strangest Book of the Bible, Visions and Predictions and Politics in Revelation
27 Dec, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots, News
Kees Zoeteman If you read the cover of this book (Viking Penguin, 2012) by the American Elaine Pagels, your first impression is to get in touch with the latest truth about the Apocalypse. John wrote his book according to a Dutch newspaper commentary ‘as a devastating...
Wolfgang Peter’s weekly lectures on the Apocalypse
Austrian Wolfgang Peter (born 13 November 1957) started spring 2020 with weekly lectures (in German) on the Apocalypse which are recorded. These lectures are given at Perchtoldsdorf bei Wien, Austria, and are documented by Francois Hagdorn on Youtube. Wolfgang Peter...
Do we have a self?
7 Dec, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, News
Kees Zoeteman The science section in the Dutch newspaper NRC of 31 October & 1 November 2020 contained a provocative article about man's self with the title 'We have no self'. Because the Apocalypse is actually one big poem about the essential importance of the...
Friedrich Benesch’s book Apocalypse: Die Verwandlung der Erde, Eine Okkulte Mineralogie (The Transformation of the Earth, An Occult Minerology).
4 Dec, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman The book by Friedrich Benesch (1907-1991) about the Apocalypse (Stuttgart: Urachhaus, 1981) was already almost forty years old when I got my hands on it in a shop for second-hand books in Zeist, The Netherlands. The special thing about it is that it...
Kalki in Hinduism and the promise of the rider on the white horse
8 Nov, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots, News
Kees Zoeteman This blog is the result of a collaboration with Jaap Sijmons who made suggestions for the theme and commented on draft versions of it. Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit the 14th century tapestry of the Apocalypse at the Castle of Angers in...
Exhibition Between light and darkness by Carin Anderson, 28 September – 20 November 2020 at Vreedehuis in The Hague.
Kees Zoeteman Carin Anderson (info: 0031-6-46064661 and https://carinanderson.nl/), born in 1959 in Groningen, The Netherlands, gave on 17 October 2020 an introduction into her exhibition of about 30 paintings that she has made over the past 15 years. The exihibition...
Does life make sense?
18 Oct, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman The Apocalypse calls upon every human being to turn around and find again the connection with the spiritual world. That is where the future perspective of man and Earth lies. However, for our consciousness the world of the spirit has disappeared further...
A post-apocalyptic world
15 Oct, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman It is striking how often the Apocalypse still appears in our speech. But not as a hopeful perspective. An example: ‘Whether China will have supplanted the USA as the most powerful country by 2050? She has no idea. "Who knows, there may already have been...
Can the Hindu time-cycles be reconciled with those of the Apocalypse?
2 Oct, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman There are similarities between apocalyptic concepts and Egyptian mysticism (https://www.project-apocalypse.com/blog/better-understanding-the-apocalypse-by-looking-at-its-egyptian-roots/). Hèléna Blavatsky (Isis unveiled, Mysteries of Antiquity and...
Separation and the two-edged sword
6 Sep, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman Seen from a distance, the Apocalypse seems to be only about separation and reunification. In order for man to unite with his creator, man must develop his inner qualities and what stands in the way of the ultimate unification must be separated....
God beyond point zero
16 Aug, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman I used to talk with my grandson, who is now eighteen, about the question of whether God exists. He didn't think so. Since this is one of those issues you can difficult convince another, I asked him the follow-up question: Are you sure? He had no good...
Margaret Barker’s ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ’
14 Aug, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
Kees Zoeteman Anyone who wants an overview of a modern Christian theological interpretation of the Apocalypse will find many interesting propositions in Margaret Barker’s The Revelation of Jesus Christ, published by T&T Clark (www.tandtclark.uk) in 2000. Barker is...
Better understanding the Apocalypse by looking at its Egyptian roots
15 Jul, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, Context and roots
May 3, 2020 | Jana Loose and Kees Zoeteman (published on 1 May 2020 in Dutch magazine Motief of the Anthroposophical Society in the Netherlands, issue 242, p 10-13) The last book of the Bible, the Apocalypse, is seen as the most mysterious and incomprehensible. We can...
The future that is preparing above our heads; 5G and beyond
6 Jul, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman Already in 1909, Rudolf Steiner pointed out that in our current fifth cultural period (Sardis) and in the period that follows (Philadelphia) a strong oppositional force becomes active. While mankind is taking in the Christ principle - the higher Self...
Contemplations on death as a gift
4 Jul, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman Postponing death as long as possible, is our motto, even if it sometimes takes a lot of effort. After all, death is the end of our existence. Or at least we're not sure if there's anything left after death. No matter how you look at death, at least you...
The role of money
1 Jul, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Kees Zoeteman There are also places in the Apocalypse referring to the role of money as an expression of our interest in the materialistic aspects of existence. First of all, we can find them in the letters to the seven communities. But the consequences of the money...
The Apocalypse: a roadmap towards a spiritually sustainable society
11 Apr, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
Towards a sustainable society Can we see the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations (UN) as a modern way of implementing the message of the last book of the Bible, the Apocalypse? This blog explains why this idea is not as farfetched as it may...
Climate change: mirror of our soul
7 Apr, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
The effects of climate change The fires in January 2020 in the south of Australia, in which more than two and a half times the surface of the Netherlands went up in flames, evoked 'apocalyptic feelings' at for instance Annemarie Kas, South-East Asia...
Is there an apocalyptic message behind the Corona pandemic?
6 Apr, 20 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog
The measures taken early 2020 by authorities to combat the Covid-19 pandemic have left the streets of our major cities empty, which evokes an apocalyptic association. Or as Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer puts it in the description of the street where he lives in Genoa: 'The...
Marc Chagall’s relationship to the Apocalypse
29 Dec, 19 | Apocalypse in discussion, Blog, News
Kees Zoeteman I accidentally walked into the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in December 2019. There was an exhibition entitled 'Chagall, Picasso, Mondrian and others, Migrant Artists in Paris, Exhibition - 21 Sep 2019 until 2 Feb 2020'. And to my surprise I came across...
Book review Apokalypse im Ich (2019)
Kees Zoeteman In the summer of 2019 the book Apocalypse im Ich (Apocalypse in the Self) (ISBN 978-3-7235-1612-6, Verlag am Goetheanum, Dornach, Switzerland) was published. It contains eight contributions, consisting of revised lectures on the Apocalypse at a meeting...
New book by Judith von Halle on The Apocalypse of John (2018)
Kees Zoeteman In the second half of 2018, Judith von Halle's small book on Die Apokalypse des Johannes, Bindeglied zwischen judischer Mystik und christlich-anthroposophischer Geisteswisschenschaft (The Apocalypse of John, Binding link between Judaic Mysticism and...
Blog Explanation text fragment 56 (Revelation 22:6-21)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
In the final fragment 56, no new vision is presented. The Apocalypse is closed with a final text in which several voices sound, such as: the Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Bride and John himself. And he said to me: These words are faithful and true; and God, the...
Blog Explanation text fragment 55 (Revelation 21:1 – 22:5)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The great moment has come of the arrival of the new heaven and the new earth. In this seventh and last great vision after the outpouring of the vials of wrath, the Apocalypse comes to its apotheosis. Or, as Schult (p.335) remarks: ‘When the power of evil has driven...
Blog Explanation text fragment 54 (Revelation 20: 11-15)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
As we noticed before, the number sixth announces an important moment of decision. The sixth great vision of John, after the outpouring of the vials, presents the final judgement of God of all those who were not part of the first resurrection. The Christ logos and...
Blog Explanation text fragment 53 (Revelation 20: 1-10)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The fifth great vision of John, after the outpouring of the vials of wrath, refers, together with the next two visions, to the building of the kingdom of the spirit. The mystical secrets are contained in particular in these three last great visions of 1) the period of...
Blog Explanation text fragment 52 (Revelation 19: 11-21)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
It is not a coincidence that the Christ seated on a white horse is the fourth great vision after the outpouring of the vials of wrath. The fourth vision is the center of the seven visions given to John. Again Christ is placed in the center of the events leading...
Blog Explanation text fragment 51 (Revelation 19: 1-10)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
In the third great vision after the outpouring of the seventh vial, we hear four times voices saying: Alleluia!’ The jubilant tone of the third great vision contrast strongly with the downfall of Babylon in the previous one. Schult (p.296) recognizes in this festivity...
Blog Explanation text fragment 50 (Revelation 18: 1-24)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Fallen Babylon, Gustav Doré, 1866, woodcutt, Grande Bible de Tours The second great vision after the outpouring of the seventh vial of wrath shows the fall of Babylon and its consequences. I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth...
Blog Explanation text fragment 49 (Revelation 17: 1-18)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The first great image after the sounding of the seventh trumpet presented the cosmic Sophia, giving birth to the solar Son-child, which is threatened by the red dragon with seven heads and ten horns. The first great vision after the outpouring of the seventh vial of...
Blog Explanation text fragment 48 (Revelation 16:18 – 21)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
While we enter the Holy of holiest of the heavenly temple, all what rests of the physical Earth collapses with great roar. And the great city was divided in three parts, and the cities of the heathen fell, and Babylon, the great, came in remembrance for God to give...
Blog Explanation text fragment 47 (Revelation 16:17)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The seventh vial is poured out in the air. And there came a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying: It is done. The air represents the higher realm of the mental sphere. In this phase, the difference between the seventh ray and the...
Blog Explanation text fragment 46 (Revelation 16:12-16)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
With this text fragment we arrive again at the sixth ray in the spiral. On the sixth ray oppositions are maximized and a decision has to be made. As discussed in the cycle of the trumpets, the culmination of evil forces appears in each successive cycle at a later...
Blog Explanation text fragment 45 (Revelation 16:10-11)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The following three vials do not touch an earth-bound or nature related sphere, similar as was the case for the last three trumpets. The last three vials concern the people themselves and the counter forces active in them: the anti-Christ kingdom, its leaders and its...
Blog Explanation text fragment 44 (Revelation 16:8-9)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The fourth vial is not poured out on one of the elements of the Earth, but on the Sun. The Sun is the center of our solar system and of our inner fire, the I. People are scorched by the heat of the fire, but they do not change their inclination and blaspheme the Name...
Blog Explanation text fragment 43 (Revelation 16:4-7)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The third vial is poured out on the rivers and the fountains and they become blood. Rivers and fountains symbolize the personal inner life, the human soul, the astral body. The source of life dries up for the people which strive to increase their own fame and...
Blog Explanation text fragment 42 (Revelation 16:3)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The second vial is poured out upon the sea. And it became as the blood of a dead. And every living being, that was there in the sea, died. The sea is a symbol for the life forces, the etheric body of man and earth. Blood is in the human body the carrier of life,...
Blog Explanation text fragment 41 (Revelation 16:1-2)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
When the first vial of wrath is poured out on earth … there fell ulcers, painful and malignant, upon men, which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which had to worship his image. Bock (p.250-278) expected, now that we are approaching God, that events would...
Blog Explanation text fragment 40 (Revelation 15: 5-8)
23 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
At the 40th text fragment we arrive at the eighth beam (or beam zero) in the spiral, the place of transition to the next higher consciousness level and where the next cycle starts. The glow of God’s glory comes flowing to us. The intuitive world is awaiting us....
Blog Explanation text fragment 39 (Revelation 15: 1-4)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The seventh and last great image after the seventh trumpet, gives again a preview of what is going to be unfolded. We see seven angels stepping forward with seven last plagues. The seven trumpets proceeded after the opening of the seven seals. In the same way the...
Blog Explanation text fragment 38 (Revelation 14:14-20)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
John sees, in the sixth great image after the seventh trumpet, a figure resembling the Son of man, seated on a white cloud. It reminds us of the first vision with which the Apocalypse started. Here, the Son of man had on his head a golden garland and in his hand a...
Blog Explanation text fragment 37 (Revelation 14:6-13)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The three great images, that follow after the fourth image presenting the Lamb on mount Sion, show the path towards further reconciliation of man and cosmos with God. These developments are also mirrored in man’s evolution, according to Schult (p.235). When the God-I...
Blog Explanation text fragment 36 (Revelation 14:1-5)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Bock (p.222-232) notices a change of tone at the transition from chapter 13 to 14. We get a preview of the land of eternity, which opens up beyond the threshold that is guarded by the demonic forces. We see the Lamb, standing on mount Sion, with the 144,000 sealed....
Blog Explanation text fragment 35 (Revelation 12:18 -13:18)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
In text fragment 29, we read how an angel instructed John to eat the little book. The angel stood with one foot on the sea and with the other on land. John was invited to enter the astral world represented by the sea. Now, he is confronted with the dragon, standing on...
Blog Explanation text fragment 34 (Revelation 12: 1-17)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The 34th text fragment presents us again an iconic picture that has influenced during two millennia European culture: Michael battling with the dragon. In practically each Roman-catholic church this picture is shown as the symbol of the inner battle each man has to...
Blog Explanation text fragment 33 (Revelation 12: 1-6)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
At the start of the second halve of the Apocalypse, after the sounding of the seventh trumpet, again a grandiose vision is presented to John which we, as reader, will never forget: the pregnant woman, clothed with the Sun, the Moon under her feet and the twelve star...
Blog Explanation text fragment 32 (Revelation 11: 16-19)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
After the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the temple is opened for spiritual man and we share in the actions of the twenty four elders around God’s throne. For the first time we are allowed a glimpse at what was hidden in the Holy of holiest, the ark. The ark is for...
Blog Explanation text fragment 48 (Revelation 16:18 – 21)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
While we enter the Holy of holiest of the heavenly temple, all what rests of the physical Earth collapses with great roar. And the great city was divided in three parts, and the cities of the heathen fell, and Babylon, the great, came in remembrance for God to give...
Blog Explanation text fragment 31 (Revelation 11: 15)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Then, the seventh trumpet sounds. The most important goal of physical Earth is now completed. This is the pouring in of love in our Self, after opening our heart, resulting in the development of Manas in our being. After the sounding of the last trumpet, spiritualized...
Blog Explanation text fragment 30 (Revelation 11: 1-14)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
In the Seal epoch the sealed book on the lap of God was the central object of concern. In the Trumpet epoch it are the trumpets blown before the altar of God’s temple. But to come closer to the temple and to God himself, evil in ourselves has to be overcome. We are at...
Blog Explanation text fragment 29 (Revelation10: 1-11)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Before the seventh trumpet is blown, a new vision is showed to John and to us. When the seventh trumpet will sound, the physical body will dissolve completely and only the spiritual part of man will live on. This is the Manas, the purified astral forces of our body,...
Blog Explanation text fragment 28 (Revelation 9: 13-21)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
At the sounding of the sixth trumpet the four angels which are bound at the great river Euphrates … were loosed … for to slay the third part of men. These four angels were also mentioned in relation to the sixth seal, but then they were ordered not to act. In...
Blog Explanation text fragment 27 (Revelation 9: 1-12)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
As explained at text fragment 26, a new movement starts after the sounding of the fourth trumpet, that comes forward at the blowing of the fifth trumpet. The eagle as symbol of our higher self, is confronting the underworld to overcome it. The pit of the abyss, hiding...
Blog Explanation text fragment 26 (Revelation 8: 13)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The last three trumpets, which are at the same time the three woes, are introduced by the vision of the eagle flying in the midst of heaven. We hear three times woe, woe, woe. This has in Greek a different sound than in English: ouaie, ouaie, ouaie. It is a developing...
Blog Explanation text fragment 25 (Revelation 8: 12)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
At the sounding of the fourth trumpet the element of fire withdraws. And we hear no longer of falling objects. The material smartness has become so dominant that the outlook on the super sensuous world, as expressed in Moon, Sun and stars, is shrinking. Now,...
Blog Explanation text fragment 24 (Revelation 8: 10-11)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
When the third trumpet sounds, a great star falls from heaven, flaming as a torch, and it fell upon the third part of the great rivers and the fountains of waters. And the name of the star is called Wormwood. The waters become bitter and many men die. Bock (p.130-148)...
Blog Explanation text fragment 23 (Revelation 8: 8-9)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
With the second trumpet a waving flood of fire, great as a burning mountain, was cast in the sea. Schult (p.146) sees in this falling mountain of flames again the combination of luciferic passion and ahrimanic hardening. The reason why the destruction now concerns the...
Blog Explanation text fragment 22 (Revelation 8: 7)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The trumpets will sound in a final phase of the present incarnation of our planet. The trumpets have a parallel role to play as the seals. With the opening of the seals man’s thoughts are purified. With the sound of the trumpets our feelings are tested (Van Egmond, 10...
Blog Explanation text fragment 21 (Revelation 8: 1-6)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Blog Explanation text fragment 21 (Revelation 8: 1-6) In his part of text, the seventh seal has been opened. We read not of shocking events, on the contrary, heaven is full of silence during half an hour, the period in which creation is inhaled by God. Obviously, we...
Blog Explanation text fragment 20 (Revelation 7: 9-17)
22 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
After the sealing of the 144,000, they appear before the throne of God and of the Lamb. They have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. This gathering before the throne is, as it seems, the result of the opening of the seventh seal, although the opening...
Blog Explanation text fragment 19 (Revelation 7: 1-8)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
After the opening of the sixth seal and the start of the dissolution of the material world, text fragment 19 shows the opposite side of the consequences of opening seal six. The representatives of the twelve tribes of the Jewish people, symbolizing men from all...
Blog Explanation text fragment 18 (Revelation 6: 12-17)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The opening of the sixth seal shows us how the cultural period of Philadelphia works out in the future in our inner world and in the exterior world, where characteristic features of the well-known mineral surroundings will disappear. The coming of the seventh seal and...
Blog Explanation text fragment 17 (Revelation 6: 9-11)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The horse as symbol for human intelligence, can no longer be the theme at the opening of the fifth seal, notes Steiner (24 June 1908). The Christ impulse is given to man in the middle of the Post-Atlantean epoch, and man had to make his choice. Instead of the horse,...
Blog Explanation text fragment 16 (Revelation 6: 7-8)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
After opening the fourth seal, the keeper of the west appears, Nabu-Mercury, horseman on the pale green horse, with the name Death, and followed by Hades, the underworld with the spirits of the depth (Schult, p.116). Among the four elements, air belongs to the west...
Blog Explanation text fragment 15 (Revelation 6: 5-6)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
After the third seal is opened, the horseman on the black horse appears with a balance in his hand. The horseman on the black horse is Ninurta-Saturnus, the keeper of the south. The balance is the symbol of Saturn. In the zodiac sign Libra, where summer passes into...
Blog Explanation text fragment 14 (Revelation 6: 3-4)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
After the second seal is opened, the keeper of the north appears, Nergal-Mars, the horseman on the red horse with his great sword. As god of war, he takes peace from the earth, and he kills with his sword. The sword refers to the earlier Persian culture in which the...
Blog Explanation text fragment 13 (Revelation 6: 1-2)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The opening of the seals marks, according to Schult (p.113), the actual start of the Apocalypse, as here God’s plan with the world is revealed. The preceding parts were preparation. The Lamb opens in chapter 6 the sealed book with its sacrificial force....
Blog Explanation text fragment 12 (Revelation 5: 1-14)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The view on the throne opens a new round of events, that is depicted in the breaking of the seals of the book that the One on the throne holds in his right hand. The book shows the way to the highest wisdom (Steiner, GA 8, p.120). The seals reflect the eternal world...
Blog Explanation text fragment 11 (Revelation 4: 1-11)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The end of the seventh letter to the community of Laodicea made us aware of the existence of God’s throne. Seeing the throne is only possible with a higher level of consciousness. Text fragment 11 shows beings and actions that are present at this higher consciousness...
Blog Explanation text fragment 10 (Revelation 3: 14-22)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The letter to Laodicea closes the series of seven letters, the first circle in the spiral, and specifies the mission of the last cultural period (5700 – 7900) of the Post-Atlantean epoch. It is also named the American cultural period. During this final cultural...
Blog Explanation text fragment 9 (Revelation 3: 7-13)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Contrary to the earlier communities, Philadelphia is in John’s time not an old city, but recently founded. The city received its name at its foundation in 169 BC from king Eumenes II (197-160 BC) of Pergamon. He expressed with this name his love for his brother and...
Blog Explanation text fragment 8 (Revelation 3: 1-6)
16 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Sardis was located close to modern Salihli, and its name can still be recognized in the small village of Sart. Sardis was the famous and wealthy capital of the Roman province of Lydia and dates back to at least 3,000 BC. Herodotus describes the crucial role of the...
Blog Explanation text fragment 7 (Revelation 2: 18-29)
4 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Contrary to Pergamon, where the old Acropolis was located outside modern Bergama, remnants of old Thyatira and its first Christian community are overgrown by new developments and hard to find. Only in a little square neighborhood in the center, which is...
Blog Explanation text fragment 6 (Revelation 2: 12-17)
4 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Pergamon, now called Bergama, is situated north of Smyrna, some 25 kilometers inland from the coast where it nears the island of Lesbos. Also Pergamon is a very important city in the Roman empire. It has a majestic Acropolis, located at the top of the hills,...
Blog Explanation text fragment 5 (Revelation 2: 8-11)
4 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The fight between Ormazd and Ahriman, http://www.worldexplorer.be/leer_van_zarathoestra.htm The community of Smyrna, presently the harbor town Izmir, was in John’s time the most important trade and harbor city of Asia Minor. For this reason it is in Turkey still known...
Blog Explanation text fragment 4 (Revelation 2: 1-7)
4 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Artemis at Ephesus (1st century, Roman copy of Artemis statue in the Temple of Ephesus. (source: www.flickr.com/photos/22174859@N00/382153782/) Structure of the seven letters The letters to the seven communities are all structured in a similar way. First the letter...
Blog Explanation text fragment 3 (Revelation 1: 9-20)
4 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
The cave at Patmos where, as it is believed, John received his revelations In text fragment 3, John starts to say that he is one of us and explains where he received his vision: he was on Patmos and it was Sunday, the day of the week devoted to the sun and to its...
Blog Explanation text fragment 2 (Revelation 1: 4-8)
4 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Diego Velazquez, Saint John at Patmos, 1609-1610, www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/diego-velazquez-saint-john-the-evangelist-on-the-island-of-patmos John writes to the seven communities or churches in Asia Minor, which mark his geographical working area. But these...
Blog Explanation text fragment 1 (Revelation 1: 1-3)
4 Oct, 19 | Blog, Explanations text fragments
Text fragment 1 is the inscription or preface of the Apocalypse, the last book of the Bible. It immediately makes clear that it contains a revelation, a prophecy, passed on to us from God by Jesus, the Messiah, showing his own role as acting divine being in the...